^44 



Specific micro-organismS 



mold to be recognized as a cause of disease, and also because 

 it is an example of a large group of fungi which attack various 

 insects. The disease muscardine is, moreover, one of consider- 

 able importance to the silk industry. 



Oiditun Lactis. — Oidium lacHs is very widely distributed and is 

 almost always present in milk and milk products, and in brewer's 

 and baker's yeast, and it is an especially prominent organism in 



Fig. 96. — Oidium lactis. a, b, Dichotomous branching of growing hyphae; c, d, 

 g.'simple chains of oidia breaking through substratum at dotted line x-y, dotted por- 

 tions submerged; e, f, chains, of oidia from a branching outgrowth of a submerged 

 cell; /(.'branching chain of oidia; k, I, m, n, o, p, s, types of germination of oidia under 

 varying conditions; t, diagram of a portion of a colony showing habit of Oidium 

 lactis as seen in culture media. (From Bull. 82, Bur. Animal Industry, V. S. Dept. 

 Agr.) 



the further fermentation of, acid substances, such as sauerkraut, 

 sour milk and cheese. The organism is especially important in 

 the ripening of Camembert cheese. It grows well on ordinary 

 nutrient gelatin. The colony consists of a loosely woven, white 

 network of septate, branched and anastomosing threads, chiefly 



